Movers and Shakers

Marriott will head up the company's distributor sales team to provide clear channel management and direction.

He spent more than 10 years working in sales management and product marketing in Dublin, Ireland, for an IT company. He joins Lewmar from his position as sales and marketing manager for a specialist retail outlet in Hampshire, U.K.

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Rec Boat Holdings announced the appointment of Jeff Brunson to vice president of North American sales and marketing for Four Winns.

Brunson comes to Four Winns with extensive experience in the power-sports and marine products industries. He spent 15 years at Bombardier Recreational Products, where he managed sales teams and sales administration functions and, more recently, served as vice president of sales and marketing at Cruisers Yachts.

"Four Winns has enjoyed a leadership position in the marine industry for years and Jeff will lead many strategic initiatives to ensure that position for the future," group president Roch Lambert said in a statement.

Four Winns is preparing the launch of its 2011 model-year lineup through a series of regional dealer meetings being conducted this fall. Rec Boat Holdings is a division of Platinum Equity affiliate PBH Marine Group.

"Rick is a very high-energy individual who brings several years of international sales experience to our team. Rick is a quality guy and will have an immediate positive impact," says Nautique president/CEO Bill Yeargin.

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Michelle Lampher joined the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation as vice president of marketing. She will provide marketing strategy and leadership for the organization's products and programs, including the Take Me Fishing campaign.

"Michelle is a proven leader and successful marketing expert," president and CEO Frank Peterson said in a statement. "Her prior experience as a business owner and a marketing development specialist, combined with her youth education expertise, will be a tremendous asset to RBFF as we work to increase participation, while protecting the legacy of boating and fishing."

Lampher was president of Better World Strategies, a consulting firm that provided strategic planning, marketing and development services to non-profit organizations.

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Jim Bohart was appointed regional market development manager at Hunter Marine.

Bohart is an industry veteran with both manufacturing and retail experience. He worked for Hunter Marine for 17 years prior to leaving to become the sales manager for one of North America's largest Beneteau dealerships in Los Angeles for the last nine years.

A University of Florida graduate, he will be located out of Hunter's Alachua, Fla., office and initially will be responsible for the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions.

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Hanse Yachts US recently announced a reorganization.

Douglas Brophy replaces Alex Harrison as the new North American sales manager and representative for Hanse Yachts. Harrison will be pursuing a new opportunity, the company says.

Donald Walsh will oversee and coordinate the transition of all aspects of the U.S. operations to Brophy and the new office in Rowley, Mass., and will relinquish all of his duties and responsibilities by the end of the transition.

"We anticipate that this transition will be fully completed by the end of August, with Doug Brophy in full operational control of Hanse Yachts US, including banking, dealer support, dealer development and all functions relating to Hanse Yachts US in North America," the company said in a statement.

Deep Impact, a Miami-based manufacturer of high-performance powerboats, appointed Tim Gallagher, most recently sales director with the Cigarette Racing Team, as its sales director.

"As a competitor to Deep Impact, I had been paying close attention to the changes occurring in both their business structure and product improvements," says Gallagher. "I found that their desire to grow and advance the brand as a whole made our match a perfect fit. It was striking to find a boatbuilder that looked at its long-term success rather than survival on a weekly basis."

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Derry Yourman joined Thetford Corp. as a senior product manager and will be responsible for managing Thetford sanitation products' brands and lineup.

Yourman's experience includes both the development of new product lines, from concept to launch, and the continuous improvements to existing product lines.

He joins Thetford after more than 12 years at Brass Craft Manufacturing, a Masco company. Initially a marketing coordinator, he served as product manager there for the last decade.

Prior to that, he worked at Nordhaus Research in Southfield, Mich.

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The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals announced that Allison Kaufmann was promoted from executive/ charter assistant to president, and charter specialist Jennifer Saia to a full-time charter agent.

Kaufmann joined The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals in December 2006 and was then promoted to charter agent/independent contractor. She started her career in the yachting industry as a stewardess on private and charter yachts.

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Professional BoatBuilder magazine promoted Aaron Porter to editor, replacing Paul Lazarus, who will continue as a contributing editor.

Porter also will assume responsibility for editing the IBEX seminar program.

Porter served as managing editor for five years under Lazarus' direction. Under Lazarus' tenure, Professional BoatBuilder, of Brooklin, Maine, grew from a small marine journal to a technical resource for builders, repairers, designers and surveyors.

Porter came to Professional BoatBuilder in 2005 with an extensive background as a professional sailor, rigger and award-winning marine journalist who wrote extensively about fisheries policy, aquaculture, boatbuilding and other maritime affairs on the Maine coast.